High school law internship and research fellowship
This high school law internship lets students in Grades 9 to 12 read a real environmental rule and check how it works on their own street, with a mentor who reviews each draft. You study a rule such as the Solid Waste Management Rules, gather facts near home and write a short legal brief on what you find.
For school students thinking about law, including those who take IB Global Politics, A Level Law or CBSE Legal Studies. Online, with field work near home and a parent or guardian present at every self-guided activity. The fellowship is paid because every student receives time and attention from senior researchers and leaders.
Why law matters for sustainability
Laws decide who must deal with waste and pollution. In India, the waste rules ask households to sort their waste into separate streams, such as wet and dry. The plastic rules say that companies which make plastic packaging, or sell goods in it, must help collect and recycle it. A rule only works when people know about it and someone checks that it is followed. Law students learn to read the exact words of a rule and test them against the facts.
Earth5R trains housing societies on waste segregation and composting in 150+ Indian cities. At lake and beach cleanups, its teams run brand audits that sort and count plastic items by brand. Its TERRA Score work checks what 1,200+ companies listed in India report in their BRSR filings against field data, and company names are masked in student work. As a fellow you use records like these to see how a rule works in daily life.
This work links to the UN Sustainable Development Goals: Goal 12, Responsible consumption and production and Goal 16, Peace, justice and strong institutions.
Available projects in this high school law internship
Each project fits around school work and takes place near home. Your mentor shapes the final project with you.
Waste rules in your building
Read what the Solid Waste Management Rules ask of households, check how your building or housing society sorts its waste, and write a one-page brief on any gaps.
Carry bags in local shops
With a parent, visit shops on your street, note the kinds of carry bags they hand out, and compare what you find with India’s rules on thin plastic carry bags.
Brand audits and producer duties
Study brand audit records from Earth5R cleanups and write a brief on what India’s plastic rules expect from the producers and brand owners whose packaging was found.
A waste policy for your school
Check how your school handles paper, food and electronic waste, compare its practice with the rules that apply, and draft a clear waste policy for the school to consider.
What you do in the field
- Read the text of a rule alongside a plain-language summary
- Learn how courts and lawyers interpret the words of a rule
- Record what you find near home on the Earth5R app
- Interview family, neighbours or building staff about the rule
- Draft a short legal brief and revise it with your mentor
- Present your brief in a research conversation and answer questions
Skills you build
On a high school law internship, you collect your own data near home with a parent or guardian, using the Earth5R app and data forms. Earth5R checks the data on its platform before it goes into your project report.
How a high school law internship fits your school programme
For IB, IGCSE, CBSE and ICSE students. Your school decides what counts towards its own requirements.
IB CAS
A campaign to help your building or school follow the waste rules can form a CAS project with a service element. Your CAS coordinator decides whether it fits.
Extended Essay and IA
A Global Politics Extended Essay or IA needs a focused issue and good sources. A rule you tested near home can give you both, if your supervisor approves the topic.
MYP, IGCSE and CBSE projects
A study of local waste rules fits the MYP Personal Project, IGCSE Global Perspectives and the project work set by CBSE and ICSE schools.
University applications
A legal brief based on facts you gathered gives you a writing sample and a specific example to discuss in a law personal statement or interview.
How the high school law internship works
Every student moves through four phases. Your mentor checks each phase before you move on, and sessions pause during board exams.
Observe and Map
Go into the field near home, with a parent or guardian, and collect primary data for your project in Law.
Frame and Design
Find the root cause in your data and frame a problem worth solving, with your mentor.
Model
Build a working model, analysis or design for your solution, and test it.
Build and Deploy
Put your solution to work, measure the result and publish a verified record on earth5r.org.
Along the way you take part in research conversations with professors at MIT, Oxford, Cambridge, LSE and other universities, and ask your own questions. See how FIELDWORK works.
Where this can take you
University courses this leads to
- LLB Bachelor of Laws
- BA in Law or Jurisprudence
- BA in Legal Studies
- Law with European or International Law
- Politics, Philosophy or Economics before a graduate law degree
Careers in this field
- Environmental lawyer
- Legal researcher
- Compliance or ESG analyst
- Policy and regulatory adviser
- Law clerk at a court or tribunal
Universities to aim for in Law
Law admissions tutors look for students who notice the exact words in a text and can argue a point from them. A high school law internship with FIELDWORK gives you a legal brief based on facts you gathered, reviewed by your mentor and recorded on your verified profile on earth5r.org. Students use a high school law internship to build a record of real work for applications to universities like these.
University College London (UCL)
UK · Faculty of Laws, Law LLB
UCL’s Law LLB covers public law, contract, property and criminal law in the first year, then tort, EU law and jurisprudence. Final-year students choose optional modules and can write a research essay. The Faculty of Laws also runs a Centre for Law and Environment.
UK · Edinburgh Law School, LLB Law
Edinburgh’s LLB is grounded in Scots law and the Scots legal system, with study of UK, EU and other legal systems alongside it. Honours students take advanced options and usually write a dissertation, and the school also teaches an LLM in Global Environment and Climate Change Law.
London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)
UK · LSE Law School, LLB Bachelor of Laws
LSE Law School’s three-year LLB opens with Introduction to Legal Systems and Legal Studies Skills, followed by full courses in criminal, contract, public and tort law. Later years combine core and optional law courses, and students also take the LSE100 course.
UK · Surrey Law School, Law (Law, Environment and Sustainability Pathway) LLB
This Surrey Law School pathway covers core subjects such as contract, tort and public law, then adds environmental law from the second year. Modules include Climate and Energy Law and Environmental Law in Action, taught by academics from the Surrey Centre for International and Environmental Law.
Netherlands · Global Law LLB
Tilburg’s Global Law LLB is taught entirely in English over three years. Students compare core subjects such as contract, tort and constitutional law across different legal systems, study EU law and public international law, and write a thesis in their final semester.
National University of Singapore (NUS)
Singapore · Faculty of Law, LLB (Hons) programme
NUS Law’s four-year LLB (Hons) begins with a fixed core that covers contract, torts, criminal law and legal theory, followed by elective clusters such as international and comparative law. The faculty’s Asia-Pacific Centre for Environmental Law works on legal responses to climate change and plastics pollution.
The University of Hong Kong (HKU)
Hong Kong · Faculty of Law, Bachelor of Laws (LLB)
HKU’s four-year LLB is taught through problem-based learning in small groups. Students can specialise in areas such as commercial law, Chinese law or international trade and economic law, take a minor outside law, and join clinical programmes and international mooting competitions.
Australia · Sydney Law School, Bachelor of Laws combined degrees
Sydney Law School teaches the Bachelor of Laws as a combined degree with arts, commerce, economics, engineering or science. Electives include environmental law, and the school’s Australian Centre for Climate and Environmental Law develops units of study for undergraduate programmes.
University of California, Berkeley
USA · Legal Studies Undergraduate Program
Berkeley’s Legal Studies major is an interdisciplinary liberal arts programme on how law shapes, and is shaped by, political, economic and cultural forces. Its courses are grouped into topical areas, with themes such as equality, privacy and the just distribution of resources.
New Zealand · Faculty of Law, Bachelor of Laws (LLB)
Auckland’s four-year LLB begins with Law and Society, Legal Method and Legal Foundations, studied alongside courses outside law. Later Parts cover criminal, public, tort, contract and land law, and every student takes He Pūtake Tikanga Māori in the final Part.
This list is for guidance. These universities offer undergraduate study in Law. Earth5R has no admissions arrangement with them, and admission decisions rest with each university. Students get help researching universities, scholarships and applications, depending on the programme.
What your fellowship fee pays for
An internship fellowship at Earth5R is time and attention from senior researchers and leaders. Each part below takes staff time and resources that we set aside for every fellow.
Live mentoring with experts
One-to-one mentoring in most fellowships, with regular check-ins on your project.
Dialogues with global researchers
Academics from international universities and renowned scientists, who answer your questions and discuss your work.
Support in the field
Guidance while you collect data and work on your project in the field.
References for your next step
References when you apply for jobs, higher studies and research programmes.
Your work, hosted for life
Your work and data stay on Earth5R’s website and servers for life, where universities and employers can check them.
Time from senior people
Each fellow receives time and attention from senior researchers and leaders, set aside for them.
Fee details available on request.
Choose your fellowship
The Multi-Year Fellowship can run from Grade 9 to Grade 12, with more scope each year.
The fee pays for live mentoring, dialogues with global researchers, support in the field, references and lifelong hosting of your work. Fee details available on request.
High school law internship: common questions
Do I need to know any law to start this high school law internship?
No. Your mentor shows you how to read a rule line by line and work out what it asks people to do. Students who take Global Politics, A Level Law or CBSE Legal Studies can go further.
How much time will this take alongside my child’s school work?
Projects are planned with a light weekly load, so they fit around school. Most of the work is reading and writing at home, and field checks are short visits in your child’s own building or street.
Will I study Indian law or the law of other countries?
You start with India’s waste and plastic rules, because they match Earth5R’s field work. If you plan to study law abroad, you can compare an Indian rule with a similar law in the UK, the EU or another country.
Is the high school law internship paid?
Yes. FIELDWORK is a paid, mentored programme. The fee pays for live mentoring, dialogues with global researchers, support in the field, references and lifelong hosting of your work. Fee details are available on request.
Can my child do this high school law internship online?
Yes. Mentoring sessions run online, and field work takes place near where you live.
Is a parent or guardian present during field work?
Yes. A parent or guardian is present at every self-guided field activity. Online sessions are for students.
Does FIELDWORK pause during board exams?
Yes. Sessions pause during board exams, so the fellowship fits around school work.
What do students get at the end?
A certificate, a letter of recommendation, a project report and a verified profile on earth5r.org, where universities can check the work.
Related subjects for school students
Already at university? See the Law internship fellowship for university students.
Apply for a FIELDWORK fellowship in Law
This high school law internship is for students in Grades 9 to 12. Work on a live Earth5R project with a mentor, take part in research conversations with global researchers, and build a verified record of your work. Fee details available on request.
